So, Wednesday, I had the chance to meet with my neuro-oncologist down at UW (he also works with SCCA). 

 The straght dope on my health is that I’ve got a really aggressive tumor that the stats don’t speak well of; my meek little Astrocytoma III went and mutated itself into a snarly Glioblastoma. The great news is that I’ve got a few sets os options, I’m young & otherwise healthy as a horse, and am aware of non-medicinal lifestyle changes that can help break this thing down.

Yesterday, at the conclusion of our meeting, I was informed that I should start my chemo infusion treatments right away, so that’s just what we did; with my patient & supportive sister & bro-in-law in tow, I got to stick around at the hospital for another 2-3 hrs, taking chemotherapy.  Life w/ cancer is so weird…

(my chemo is called carboplatin, and is apparently on the middle of the harshness scale.  Plus, there’s an amazing anti-nausea med out there now, Zofran, or Ondansetron, that is generally referred to as a miracle drug; I’m sitting here about12 hrs after infusion, and am feeling a bit groggy at worst.)

ed note: I’ve since learned that the effects take a day or two to kick in; Day 2 is not treating me as well as Day 1.

Like I said, the stats don’t speak well, but I only taught remedial HS math, and we didn’t get to statistics. So, stats schmats!  There’s a pretty small-sized window of opp. for me to make it through this thing, but I figure I’ve got the ability (and support) to shoot the gap, thought it’s going to be a tough ride, not to mention a close call, and a challenging year.

Thanks again for your continuing support, encouragement, and prayers for my family, loved ones, and myself, to know how to digest a lot of sobering realities and get through them with gratitude for what God’s doing in the midst.  Plus, for that whole miracle healing thing…

* Addendum to this post:  I realized later that I should have clarified a few requests/boundaries I’ve had to set in the past (something which is hard to do, as I recognize that you’re all acting out of love & concern…two things which it’s easy to be smothered by sometimes!)

—  Though it’s healthy & helpful for both you & me to be talking through these issues, let’s not make this the focal point of every conversation; as I’ve noted in the past, cancer is not my new hobby!  That doesn’t mean it’s a sensitive subject, or that you should avoid talking to me altogether; rather, let’s try to carry on as though the rest of the world is still carrying on  (something I’m going to spend these coming months doing, just w/ more puking than I’d planned)

— Yes, I’m familiar with the limitations on traditional medicine; and, yes, I’m open to listening to (and possibly trying) other routes of ridding my body of this nasty disease.  However, please fight the urge to start passing along every article/website/”miracle cure” that you might stumble across; the blunt response to this is that they all start to sound the same after a certain point, are almost always trying to sell something, and are just too much for my mind to take in.  Plus, I’m needing to trust that the best minds at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance can’t all be ignorant to these things.  I’m up for investigating routes that supplement chemotherapy, such as nutrition and lifestyle changes I can be making, but can’t really supplant chemo as the primary means of treatment at this point

— Please, please, please…do not start planning my funeral yet!  I’m not going to try to finish my “bucket list;” don’t give those little sympathetic sighs when I talk about future dreams & ambitions; and don’t ask me how I’m feeling every time I rub my forehead or get up to use the restroom!  Again, I know your concern comes from nowhere but love, which is why I ask that you join me in assuming that I’m going to get through this thing OK, and maybe even be a bit stronger for it…